This is Halloween
by AlexRoseRusso
Summary: Rose just loves Halloween. Halloween and Dimitri, but this year she can only have one, so she goes for best costume. Will she win, or will someone else? Just a small one-shot for the most wonderful time of the year. Enjoy XOXO.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire academy.

RPOV

Life at the academy usually meant not getting to do what most teenagers did: Like go to the movies and drink milkshakes – or was that just something they did in the movies? Anyway: Usually the academy sucked, big time, however, there was a few times a year where it didn't suck - at least not quite as majorly as it usually did.

Halloween was one of those times. It was after the autumn break, so everyone was here and not tired of living yet. Also, Halloween was like: 'Our' holiday. As a chance to dress up and eat a lot of candy, I personally loved it. The moroi used it as an opportunity to embrace their true nature, and so, blood and open feedings were a thing. That of course, was disgusting, but aside from their open grossness, Halloween was pretty awesome. This year, I had gone out on it: Face painted a half 'perfect make-up' and half 'melted to the skull'-look, put my hair half up to look like little horns and put on a long black dress: I looked awesome.

Oh and the best part? We didn't have to wait for it to be dark, as it always was. So yeah, Halloween was freaking awesome! This year, however, was the best one yet, because I had the chance to prank Dimitri. Now it was impossible to sneak up on him, I knew that, but it wasn't impossible to surprise him. Meeting him for our training in the gym at seven, I attempted to attack him from behind. It didn't work of course, and he caught me by the waist and landed me on the mat. When he saw my face, though, he gasped and jumped back. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. His face! Dimitri did not find it funny tho - he gave me five extra laps as punishment, which I cheated on, but I suspected he knew that.

At breakfast, I had the chance to sneak up on Mason and enjoy him making the same face. "Holy shit, Rose, I couldn't even see it was you!" He exclaimed when he recovered from the shock. He had a slight greenish color that told me he had 'tried' to be a zombie, but probably regretted his poor choice in costume, and tried, but failed, to remove it before showing up here.

I laughed and sat down beside Lissa, who rolled her eyes at my behavior. "I think it actually got worse after training with Dimitri. My make-up is trashed, makes it look like my face melted or something," I joked and stuffed a piece of donut in my mouth.

"Only you would say it as if it was a good thing," Christian noted, and I stuck out my tongue at him.

"Just because you guys don't have humor! Nice cape btw. Real classic," I commented at his cliché Dracula cape.

"You know," started Eddie, who was wearing an adorable sweater with a pumpkin on it, "I think I saw Jesse Zeklos wearing the same one this morning-"

Christian ripped off his cape faster than a girl who thought a spider found its way on her clothes. We all laughed at his sour expression. If there was something Christian didn't want, it was to have anything in common with Jesse Zeklos. Couldn't blame him.

"Hey Liss, where is your costume?" I asked her noticing her lack there off.

"Lissa decided costumes weren't very eco-friendly," Christian chimed in beside her, forgetting his own defeat in the costume area.

"That isn't what I said!" Lissa denied. "I just said, I didn't see the point in getting a costume and using earth's resources on it when I have fangs already!" She explained.

I laughed, "sure Liss, whatever you say. Now excuse me - I have teachers to scare!" I announced and strolled off. I planned for my next victim to be Stan. I knew detention was sure to follow, but it would be worth it. I contemplated hiding in the bushes outside the classroom, and come in through the window, but for some reason, I decided against it. It was creepy outside the classrooms. There wasn't anyone else here, yet I had the feeling of being watched. Deciding it was the awareness of the date that was setting me off, I went into class the normal way and spared myself the detention. Still, I had to work harder than I should have had to, to convince Stan it was me under the make-up and the costume. It was at lunch that I was served an unexpected chance to frighten Dimitri, again. He had stopped right inside the cafeteria, no doubt looking for me. I took the chance to slip up behind him and put my face in the worst grimace I could muster, before jumping his back. Now, of course, I didn't get on his back, because he had me pinned to the wall in seconds, but he seemed equally frightened by my make-up this time around, and I burst into a fit of laughter again.

"Seriously Hathaway? You think this is funny?" He asked me in disbelief.

I shrugged. "You only have the fun you make yourself, Comrade. See you at training," I grinned and caught a glimpse of the sympatric glances he got from his colleges. They must think he is a saint for putting up with me.

I got in line for food and ignored the weird looks the lunch ladies gave me when someone tried to cut in line.

"Dude seriously?!" I exclaimed without thinking right before I regretted it. I recognized the cape but also the blonde hair. Truth be told, I thought Eddie was joking when he said he had seen Jesse wearing a cape, but as he turned to look at me with his cocky expression, I realized it was true. His smirk turned into a horrified expression tho, and he squealed like a girl and almost climbed over the counter to get further away from me.

I laughed as the people around us started chuckling at his girly reaction. "What is wrong Zeklos, seen a ghost?" I joked as he climbed back down.

"Hathaway? What the fuck? You look terrifying!" He exclaimed.

I smirked at him, reaching in front of him to grab a spoonful of potato mash. "Not as terrifying as that scream! Ever considered auditioning for scream queens? You'd make an excellent teen-horror-virgin," I joked. He was too stunned to answer, so I took my win and went to eat. Ignoring the moroi passing around a poor feeder girl, I sat with my friends and picked at the contents of my plate.

"What's up, guys?"

"You ask us?" Eddie smirked, "we heard Jesse from across here. In fact - I think everyone on campus heard Jesse. What did you do?" He asked in wonder.

"I did nothing, except correct his rudeness!" I insisted.

"It is the face paint!" Mason exclaimed. "It is getting worse, I swear it!" He insisted as he stared at my face like he was afraid, I might bite him.

I laughed at his naiveness. "It is not, you are just getting eyes. Speaking off: What is up with Merediths creepy extra eye costume?" I asked and glanced at her. She had a very realistic extra eye glued on her forehead – it was disgusting.

"You are one to talk," Christian replied, and I gave up on them.

"Whatever, see you guys later," I called and left my tray there. Better not deal with their negativity.

Classes after lunch were pretty much me having to explain to every teacher it was just a costume. At the end of the school day, I decided to take it off before my meet with Dimitri - I was getting tired of people staring. They used to love Halloween as much as I did, what happened to them? Most of the make-up went off with a little make-up remover, but the last had to be worn off. It was only a bit of white tho, so I was good. Dimitri seemed surprised to see me without the costume. I counted that as the third time today, I surprised him.

"What happened to the paint?" He asked me.

"I don't want to talk about it," I grumbled and went to change. He didn't punish me for this lesson, instead, he went running with me.

"You like Halloween," he guessed.

"It is the one time a year you either get a treat or get to do a trick - what is not to like?" I asked him.

"Did you ever go trick or treating?" He asked me with a little headshake, clearly thinking I was being childish.

"No," I admitted, "but I did eat so much candy my tummy hurt, and I also did my fair share of toilet-paper-wrapping - so it counts. Still, it is my favorite time of the year," I insisted.

He seemed to find that weird. Tilting his head to the side, he regarded me with some amount of mystery. "How is that?"

I shrugged. "It is the one holiday that doesn't require a family," I admitted. "A little low on that," I pointed out to him, and his face fell.

"That is a sad reason for a favorite," he commented.

"What is yours?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Easter," he answered without pause.

"Easter?" I asked him skeptically. I expected it to be Christmas, traditionalist as he was.

"It is the longest break," he explained, causing me to laugh. Such rationalism.

"Fair, Comrade, fair."

We stopped running, although it wasn't the end of my laps.

"I think we can stop now. It is a holiday," he excused us.

"It is," I agreed, but I sensed that he wanted something else. My suspicions were confirmed later when we walked back inside the gym. He pulled me aside into the equipment room and kissed me tenderly. I started up at him in surprise.

"What was that for?" I asked him. He had gone out of his way lately to not get intimate, so what had caused this sudden change?

"Happy Halloween," he offered with a shrug and leaned down to kiss me again. I returned it this time and enjoyed a five-minute full make-out session before Dimitri regained his usual dismissive demeanor and told me to go shower. I took my time, enjoying the warm water while remembering the feeling of his lips against mine. It was the first real kiss we had. The first not-compelled one. Was this the beginning of something new for us? I hoped so.

Turning off the water I went to go get dressed but noticed I had steemed up most of the changing room, which was weird because even tho it was cold, and I had been in there for a while, it took a lot to steam up the entire room. I tried to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, but instead, I stopped dead in my tracks. There on the mirror, written in steam read: I see you.

What did it mean? See what? Dimitri and I? It sent chills through me to think someone might have witnessed that. Then I remembered the date: It was probably just someone pulling a prank on me. To think it almost worked, I laughed to myself. Good one.

Dimitri was already gone when I got out, so I just went back to my dorm. It was cold there, as usual, and I just climbed into bed without doing homework or eating dinner. I must have dozed off, cause I woke to something tapping on my window. Must be a branch, I thought still half-asleep until I remembered; there weren't any trees outside my window - otherwise, I would have used it to sneak out. I was about to go check on it when I heard knocking on my door too. Deciding to check that first, I opened but found the hallway to be empty. I was about to close the door again when a note caught my eye. I picked it up and opened it. It read: Do you think I am funny?

This time, a chill ran through me. Someone had been there with me in the locker room. What else had they seen? Were they the ones outside my window? I turned around to check, but there wasn't anything there. Feeling creeped out, I refused to stay there any longer and fleed the room. It was probably past curfew, but what did I care? Running downstairs to the dorm matron's desk, I slammed my hand on the top to get his attention. He looked bored, and quite frankly annoyed, but gave me his attention. "Yes?"

"There was someone outside my room!" I exclaimed and handed him the note. He read it then looked back up at me.

"And?" Sure, it didn't seem like a big deal to him. He hadn't been there. To him, it was just a note in a hall.

I shook my head trying not to lose it. "Could you just- Call guardian Belikov, please?" I asked him as nicely as I could.

"Guardian Belikov is probably getting some much-needed rest. He doesn't have time to deal with stuff like this," he held up the note.

I took a deep breath, knowing I achieved nothing by yelling. "He does. Please, just call him and tell him," I begged. He grumbled but did as I asked. Exchanging a two-minute conversation with Dimitri, he turned to me with a victory grin.

"Guardian Belikov says: "Go to bed, you have training at six," he informed me. I was speechless. Seriously? He wouldn't come? I angrily grabbed the note back from the matron and went upstairs. Maybe I was being childish, but I was scared. Someone was watching me, and they didn't care that I knew. Crawling back into bed, I was determined not to get up for anyone or anything, yet it wasn't even ten minutes later when it tapped on my window again. I ignored it and pulled the covers up further, but then I heard the window start to slide open. I jumped up in time to see it slam shut and starred at it terrified. Perfect timing, it knocked on the door just then. I grabbed a heavy-looking book, ready to defend myself and went to open. I slammed it towards the person outside before I even had a chance to see who it was, yet it stooped midair when someone grabbed it and pried it from my hands.

"Jesus christ Roza, what are you doing?" Dimitri cursed.

I stared at him in disbelief. He was here! Throwing myself at him, I wrapped my arms around his neck and clung to him for dear life. "Someone tried to break in!" I cried.

He pulled back and stared at me. "What? When?" He asked and pushed past me into the room.

"Just now, through the window. They must have thought I was asleep," I explained, and he examined the window and tried to look outside it. "Please be careful!" I asked him.

"I am," he muttered, "what happened?"

I told him everything, about feeling watched, about the changing room and the note. "I didn't think you would come," I exclaimed, "the dorm matron said-"

"I know," he interrupted me. "I told him that, so he wouldn't notice how long I was here. Oh, Roza, I promise I won't let anything happen to you," he promised and wrapped his arms around me.

"I don't want to stay here," I whimpered.

"I know, come on: We'll sleep in my room."

"Can we do that?" I asked him anxiously. I didn't want him to get caught.

"As long as you don't tell anyone - then yes," he confirmed.

It wasn't hard for him to sneak me into the guardians' dorm complex – most students avoided that place like the plague, so they weren't really that concerned about someone getting in, and it was almost deserted at this time of the night. As I climbed into bed and was wrapped in my mentor's arms, I felt completely safe, and so my walls went down, and Lissa slipped in. Or I slipped into Lissa. I was never sure which one it was.

"Thank you for helping us Camille," Lissa smiled to the other royal blonde. Christian had his arm wrapped around her as they sat in the moroi common room. Normally that was forbidden at this hour, but apparently, the moroi had a Halloween party the rest of us wasn't invited to. It was just as well: I could see two guys sharing a feeder on one of the couches, so it wasn't a party I wanted to be at.

"No problem, it was a pleasure taking a little revenge for all the tricks she has played over the years. Did she freak out?" She asked excitedly – Who were they talking about?

Lissa nodded eagerly. "Big time!" she promised, and they both giggled, then Camille left. Lissa leaned back into Christian and sighed happily. "Gosh, I am so glad it worked!" She exclaimed.

Christian hummed in agreement. "Are you going to tell her?" He asked while teasing her earflap with his teeth.

"Maybe…" she pretended to consider it. "Although, I see opportunities… Do you think they'll buy it a second time?"

"Easy there miss Hyde: Don't want to scare Juliet for real - do we?" He teased, using the literare alter egos they had made up, while also making up one just for her.

"Well, if it gets her into Romeo's bed, I think she'll forgive us," she answered mischievously while thinking of how easy it had been to pull this off: She had been keeping an eye on me for a while to make sure I was okay and didn't let the rumors get to me. That was when she started to notice I was falling for Dimitri, big time. She had never seen me in love before, but she knew it when she saw it. So she arranged for this special Halloween surprise, knowing it was my favorite holiday. She knew she couldn't do it: I would notice for sure. So, she asked Christian to slip me a few notes telling him it was a prank, but he didn't buy it, so she had to tell him the truth, then he had agreed to help – after complaining for forty minutes about the 'images' she had put in his head about Dimitri and I. They asked Camille to help with a little earth magic to tap my window and open it from the ground, explaining to her it was a prank. Camille was eager to get back at me from all the Halloween pranks I had pulled during the years, so she didn't ask any questions when she agreed.

"That sneaky bitch," I whispered to myself as I slipped into my own head.

"What?" Dimitri mumbled sleepily beside me.

"Nothing," I told him quickly and turned to face him. "Nothing at all. Oh, but I was wondering: Would you mind coming to my dorm room tomorrow? Just to make sure no one is there?" I asked innocently.

"I'll do you one better," he murmured and pulled me closer. "I'll install a lock on the window." I smiled at the mental image of Dimitri in my dorm, installing a lock to keep me safe. Lissa was right: If it got me closer to Dimitri, she would scare me dead any day of the week.

I also realized another thing that I was less happy about: Lissa just won Halloween. Her costume was that she wasn't dressed up, she had just pulled a perfect Jekyll and Hyde.


	2. Chapter 2

As I woke up that morning, I felt slightly disappointed, for the first time, to be on a day schedule. Halloween was so much funnier when you had the entire night to play tricks on people, but Lissa had chosen a human college, and we were sharing a dorm room again.

I got out and put on a black dress and some tiny pumpkin earrings, deciding to celebrate the days as classy as Eddie had last year.

"No costume this year?" Lissa asked as she got dressed in a pleated skirt and a shirt with a matching tie. She looked very schoolgirlish for a college student.

"No, my job is to blend in, not attract attention," I explained as I applied some lipgloss. "You look very pornstar," I commented as she started braiding her hair.

"Britney Spears," she corrected. "Christian is coming over tonight - he promised to do a Timberlake."

"Didn't they break up a decade ago?" I asked skeptically.

"Two decades," she corrected, "which makes it vintage, so suck it up."

"You always do the sucking," I teased. "Is Dimitri on duty?" I asked innocently, although she knew why.

"Only until eight," she promised, "as are you. You guys should have fun tonight."

"Oh, we will," I assured her with a smirk. "You know Dimitri loves westerns? Anyway, I bought this cowgirl costume - well it is sort of just lingerie with boots-"

"I don't wanna know!" She cut me off wide-eyed.

"Hey, I know all about your sex life," I pointed out, having seen more of Christian than I was comfortable with.

"Knew more about my sex life," she reminded me promptly. "And I wasn't too happy about that either. Anyways, there isn't a lot to know about with him being away this much."

"You are the one who is away," I told her, sitting on the bed to put on my normal ankle boots with a small chunky heel to at least give me a little height while also allowing my balance in a fight.

She sighed and finished getting ready. Her ridiculously cute backpack actually fitted her costume, while my black handbag did exactly what it was meant to do: Blended in.

We didn't have too many classes, just a lecture, and a tutorial. The rest of the time we spent studying in the library. Or Lissa did. I would have too, but I had the feeling that we were being watched. I told myself it was the date and Lissa's stunt from last year, but I was with her all the time, and I was fairly certain there was no stunt this year. I decided to alarm the far guards and have them watch out for anything off. "Are you okay?" She asked as we packed our bags. I hadn't really been paying attention as the creepy feeling hadn't left me.

"Huh?" I asked, "oh yeah, great actually. Can't wait for the guys to get here!"

She smiled slyly like she read a double meaning into my words. "Christian just texted they're here in thirty minutes. Could you maybe go pick them up and hold them off for another thirty? I need to set something up." I rolled my eyes. She always did this: Sent me to entertain while she set up something dirty for her and Christian in our dorm. She called it 'romantic', but I had found the lube and could guess what they were doing, no need for a mental bond there! Guess being roommates brought you just as close to things you didn't want to be part of.

"You know I am a guardian right? A damn good one. If I wanted to be a tour guide, I would have gone to this college for real!"

She smirked slightly, already knowing that was a yes. "Thank you, you are the best!"

"You so owe me, miss," I warned her and called one of the far guardians over to take over my post. "I need to run an errand for her majesty, could you please take my place?" I asked Timory nicely, even though I was his boss and this was pretty much an order.

"Sure thing boss," he joked with a wink. Tim was around thirty but babyfaced and seemed much younger, which was why he was assigned to Lissa. It was hard to have both experienced guards and someone young enough to blend in.

"Careful with her," I warned him.

"I promise to take good care of her!" He swore.

"Oh it is not her I am worried about," I noted and took my bag to leave. Christian and Dimitri were probably already parked. They knew the way to the dorm, so I had to get ahead before they went there. I stopped only to check my lipstick in a mirror on the way - I was meeting Dimitri personally for the first time in weeks. I was about to exit the bathroom again, as quickly as I got there, but something caught my eye. It was on the wall of the stall. A quick flashback to last year's message in the lockerroom surfaced, but I pushed it down. People wrote loads of crap in these stalls, it was probably something like that. I pushed the door open to see the message properly. It was written across the other drawings and scripts with a big permanent marker: I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE.

A slight shiver teased the hairs on my neck, but I ignored it. It was so unspecific it was probably just someone trying to scare a random user of the facility. I reminded myself I was in a hurry and left the stall, making my way back across campus towards the big parking lot in front. I spotted the car first, Christian's electric blue Toyota made little effort to blend in. The man in front of it was less remarkable, although he should have been. "That is no Timerblake!" I exclaimed harmfully, as I meet up with him in front.

He looked up from his phone, put it away in his pocket, and smirked. "She didn't say which Timberlake. I chose something more recent. She isn't wearing denim on denim, is she?" He asked suddenly, a bit frightened that might be the case.

"No," I determined, "speaking of questionable taste in clothes, however: Where is my Russian?" I asked as I failed to spot my dark, mysterious, and handsome boyfriend.

Chrisitan shrugged. "Picking something up. He'll join later."

"He wouldn't have left you," I stated. Dimitri was too responsible for that.

"It was an order," he informed me. "Besides, you were on your way here. No big deal."

"Right..." I didn't trust that explanation at all, but I let it slide.

"And that fact that you are here tells me I am in for another exciting tour of this fine institution," he guessed, just as fed up with this charade as I was.

"I found a new vending machine!" I told him with fake excitement. "And a bathroom without drawings in it!"

"Oh my, you must show me! I cannot wait to see it!" He declared sarcastically.

"Hey at least you get the fruits of it," I exclaimed. "All I get is to not have sex with my boyfriend!" Part of sharing a dorm with your charge was she had dips on private moments with her boyfriend, which meant Dimitri and I was getting by on hidden kisses in the hallway and makeout sessions in the car. I hated feeling like a teenager, although I still was, to him it must really suck.

"He loves you," Christian tried to comfort me.

"But he isn't making love to me," I complained. "At least tell me he is just as frustrated as I am?"

"He isn't really the touchy-feely type," he commented. "But last week he broke a tile in the shower, so I think it is safe to assume he is."

"Thank god," I muttered. "Alright, let's get this fantastic tour over with!"

* * *

"And then this is our dorm!" I finished off dramatically. "Inside you will probably find a naked girl. I'll leave you to it and be right out here if you need it!" I told him, then grimaced as I took got the double meaning. "Not like that!"

He grinned. "Oh come on Rosie, I know you want me, but you are awaited elsewhere. Liss and I agreed we would be fine here, protected by four other guards. Go! Dimitri is waiting for you back at the car. You are off for tonight." It took a moment for his words to register, but then I couldn't keep the grin off my face. "Thank you!" I exclaimed and practically ran off. I vaguely heard him laugh, but I didn't really care. We had the night off and it wasn't even six yet. Maybe we could even catch dinner!

I was about halfway back to the parking lot when my phone rang. I seriously considered letting it go to voicemail, but I couldn't. It could be about Liss. "Hathaway speaking," I answered and hoped they would get on with it soon, but no one answered. "Hello?" I asked again, but all that meet me was a steady breathing. "If you don't answer I will hang up!" I threatened but received no answer. I hung up, not wanting to bother with it. Hastily, I attempted to cross the final distance, but something made me stop. A figure. A man. I couldn't quite make out his face, but he didn't seem too friendly, and he was staring right at me. Instinctively, I grabbed my stake at the hem of my jacket, ready to fight him if he attacked, but he stayed still and just stared. After a few moments, I attempted to move on while still watching him, and making sure he didn't attack but determined to just move on. Nothing happened, and as soon as I felt I was at a safe distance, I ran all the way to the parking lot where Dimitri was waiting by the car.

"Hey, easy there! I am glad to see you too!" He exclaimed, as he practically had to catch me.

I had to wait a minute, as I was out of breath, before I could speak. "there* pant* there was a man!"

He tensed up immediately and scanned the lot behind me, pushing me behind him slightly. "Where?"

"About half a mile back," I admitted. "He was staring at me from distance-"

"Roza!" he sighed. "I thought someone had tried to attack you!"

"But he- I- the phone- Dimitri I am scared!" I exclaimed. He had to understand, I was a guardian for christ's sake, but even I was scared.

"You're always scared this time of the year," he argued. "Remember last year? I even had to let you sleep in my bed! Come on Rose, I signed us into a hotel, reserved a table at a nice restaurant. Let's just go have a nice evening, please?" He asked, no begged. I realized how stupid I had been. Of course, he wanted me as well, but I couldn't shake the feeling of something being very wrong.

"Let me just check on Liss?" I asked.

"Okay," he sighed, "one minute and then we go?"

"Promise!" I took out my phone and called Tim.

"Hathaway, you are supposed to be off!" He greeted me.

"I am, in a minute. I just wanted to report, I noticed someone strange on my way here. Please be on guard!" I stressed.

"I will," he promised. "Human or vampire?"

"Human," I answered confidently. "Or alive at least. Please keep an eye out!"

"Of course. Enjoy your night."

I breathed a slight relief and looked to my now very annoyed boyfriend. "Alright. Take me away then!" I declared. He gallantly opened the door for me and let me get in, then drove us to a town nearby for dinner.

It was a nice restaurant, but I couldn't focus on anything but how creepy that man had been, and the phone call, and the weird message on the wall. last year, it was all Lissa, but this year I was fairly confident she had nothing to do with it. "Roza," Dimitri sighed, "do you want to go back?"

"Huh?" I asked as I had been subconsciously picking at my pasta for ten minutes. "No! No of course not."

"Because if you are just going to be staring into the air, we might as well," he argued.

"No, no it is just this entire thing made me feel on edge. I am sorry," I apologized and took a bite of my pasta.

"What happened?" He asked me. "I have seen you take out monsters and be less freaked out."

I had to take a moment to think. It wasn't ONE thing, it was all of them combined. "It is hard to explain."

"Try."

I sank and then put my fork down. "It is just... I had a weird feeling this morning. Then this afternoon there was a message on the bathroom wall, and I know that could have been anything but still! Then someone called without saying anything, and that man and- It just freaked me out okay?" I asked, no begged him to understand.

He nodded slightly and put down his fork. "I'll call and check up on Christian. Don't worry, it is probably nothing."

"What, you think it is something?" I asked, but he didn't answer. Instead, he went out to speak with Christian on the phone. He came back and sat down without a word making me very anxious.

"What, what is it?" I demanded to know.

He was frowning but eventually laid out his phone and showed me a picture of a printout. "Someone sent these to Christian a few weeks ago. We didn't want to scare you, so I reported to Hans, and he agreed to put some extra guards on campus without your knowledge. That is why I didn't think too much of it when you mentioned a man. I just thought it was a guard. I didn't realize someone had been harassing you, I am sorry."

I had to catch my jaw before it hit the bricks. I scrolled through the pictures. They were all of me and Lissa. In class, in the library, outside on campus. "And you never thought to mention this?"

"I didn't want to scare you-" he started.

"She is my charge, Dimitri!" I exclaimed. "Anything happens to her, it is on me. This is a direct threat-"

"No it is not!" he interrupted. "It is harassment, and we will find the person. Right now Christian and Lissa are being moved back to court to a safe location, so there is no reason to let this ruin our night. They are alright, Roza, we can tend to them tomorrow like every other day. Let's just enjoy our night off."

I hesitated. I knew the responsible thing to do was turn around and head back to my charge, but Dimitri was right. It wouldn't change anything. Lissa was in good hands and she was being moved back to court. There was no reason not to enjoy our date. "Alright," I gave in, "let me just text her-"

He held both hands up in surrender. "Text her all you want."

I did, and she texted me back, she was alright. We had our dinner, and although it was slightly tense, it was nice. Dimitri paid and went to get his duster as I went out to get some air. We were going to the hotel afterward, and finally, have some alone time. I just texted Lissa yet another time to make sure she was alright, but I got distracted. There was a road light flickering in the lot, but that wasn't what freaked me out. It was the figure under it. I recognized it. It was the man from earlier.

Something sneaked up behind me, so I spun around and punched as hard as I could, but my fist stopped as it was enclosed in a fist. "Jesus Roza, calm down!" Dimitri exclaimed and dropped my fist.

"The man! The one from the lot, he is here-"

Dimitri reacted immediately, putting himself in the line of danger and shielding me behind him, but as we looked up the man was gone. "Where?"

"He was right there under the broken light, I swear!"

He seemed like he wanted to question me, but didn't. Not after everything else. Instead, he took my hand in a firm grip. "Come on, let's just get out of here," he muttered and took me to the car. He had started the engine and backed out of the parking space before I even got my seatbelt on. I didn't know where we were going but I noticed he drove around the block a few times, probably to see if we were being followed. There was barely anyone around, so when it became clear we were not, he relaxed slightly and drove to the hotel. He took me inside and checked with the receptionist that no one had been around looking for us. Satisfied there was nothing to report we went up to our room and found it luckily empty.

"I am sorry!" I cried again. "This was supposed to be our night, and I ruined it with my paranoia!"

Dimitri threw his duster on the chair and kneeled before me. "Hey hey, you didn't ruin it! You are scared and understandably so. Anyway, I am just glad to be here with you," he insisted and cupped my face.

I forced a smile even though it was more a grimace. "I am glad you are here," I whispered back, and he placed a chaste kiss on my lips.

"Why don't you change into nightwear, and I will check with the court and tell them what we observed?" He asked. I nodded, and he went into the hallway to let me change. I took off my outfit only to realize I had nothing to change into. Dimitri had planned this surprise, but I hadn't had a chance to pack. Deciding that maybe I could turn this night around, I took off my underwear as well and got under the covers. Dimitri came back in and took his overnight bag into the bathroom to change. I sneaked a peek at his phone that he left on the table and saw a message light up from Chrisitan. _Hans said, you should come back in, the situation might be dangerous._

I didn't know how to react to that. I considered Dimitri a god. I felt completely safe with him, but now Hans thought the situation might be dangerous? I considered getting dressed but heard the bathroom door creak. I slipped back under the covers and awaited the situation. Dimitri checked his phone, wrote a message back then put it away. "Do you want to go back to court?" He asked me. "We can get changed again and go back to my apartment if you don't feel safe?"

I thought about it quickly. He didn't say he wanted to go back to court but left the choice to me. He didn't know I had seen his phone. He didn't know I knew Hans wanted us back. He was okay being here, and I felt safe as long as he was. "No, I am fine," I lied. "Let's stay the night and head back in the morning."

He smiled that half-smile of his and got under the covers next to me, grabbing me by the waist and then discovering the lack of fabric between my skin and his. "You are naked," he purred pulling me closer.

"You didn't give me notice to pack," I noted back but was muffled by his lips on mine. He slowly turned me onto my back, resting on his elbows and flexing all of those gorgeous muscles.

"You are beautiful," he murmured. I blushed and shut him up with a kiss, keeping us in that moment of intimacy until his hands grabbed tighter around my hips and he finally broke the kiss to bury his face in my hair. After that he fell onto his side and turned off the lamp by the bed, leaving us in complete darkness. He rolled back around and spooned me, the evening of his breathing a few minutes later let me know he was already fast asleep. I was about to slip under too if it wasn't for the sound of footsteps from the hallway. they stopped right outside our door and I expected someone to try the handle, but then they went in the opposite direction down the hall to another room and I relaxed. Probably just another guest.

Without even realizing I had fallen asleep I bolted awake as my phone lit up. I was really on edge, I realized for something that small to wake me up. The display showed an unknown number calling. I picked up, this time confident to tell whoever it was to bugger off. "Hello?" My voice sounded more groggy than I wanted it to, but I couldn't take it back. "Hello?" I asked again as no one answered. "Whoever this is, stop calling me!" I finally sneered.

"Get out!" Someone called in the background, then the call hung up.

I looked at my phone weirdly. It sounded almost like the person was trying to warn me and not scare me. They sounded terrified. "What is wrong?" Dimitri groaned beside me, clasping his arm around my waist again, I hadn't even noticed it had slipped.

"I don't know," I muttered as I checked through it. There were three missed calls, two from unknown and one from the caller that had just called. I found out I had seven unread messages, two from Lissa, one from Tim, and four from the unknown. I checked the ones from Lissa first. The first one was her telling me everything was fine after I had texted her outside the restaurant: _We are just getting in bed. Gonna watch a movie then check out. Everything is fine, Tim has it under control._ The second she asked me to come home: _You should probably come back to court. Tim is stressing, and Christian is trying to reach Dimitri. Tell him to check his phone_. I frowned and opened the one from Tim. _Croft wants you to come back. It is an order. If Belikov won't go, leave him._ I frowned more deeply at that one. Why wouldn't Dimitri go? He had asked me if I wanted to before we went to bed. "It is Lissa," I told him, careful with what I disclosed, "she says Christian has been trying to reach you." I heard him roll over to check his phone as I opened the messages from the unknown sender. Vaguely I heard him mutter something, but I wasn't really listening. I couldn't. All my senses were on overdrive as I stared at the four images on my phone. It was pictures. Of us, or well me. The first was from where I checked my lipstick this afternoon in the bathroom. I couldn't remember anyone else being in there but it looked like it had been taken from the stall beside the one I had seen the writing in. The next one was of me and Dimitri in the car as we kissed after our small argument in the parking lot. I had still been happy to see him after all and felt safer with him there. The third one was from outside the restaurant, as I had been texting Lissa. Something about the angle made me suspect it had been taken from the road and not the corner where I had seen the man. So two people had been watching me. However, the last one put the nail in the coffin. It was from outside our window, and it was of me as I had undressed to get in bed. He had watched me undress, and he had pictures of it. I felt dirty all over, but a shower was last on my list. I had to get out of there. "We should go," I told Dimitri, clutching the duvet to me as I tried to find my clothes.

"We should," he agreed, getting out of bed as well. "I'll check us out of the room, meet me by the car." He was already dressed, using his ninja speed, and was by the door when he stopped. I had been pulling the shirt over my head and hadn't seen what it was.

"What is it?" I asked as I stuck my leg in one jean hole. He didn't answer, and I looked up to see him holding something. "Dimitri?"

Finally, he turned around and showed me what he was holding. It was a folded note. _You can't run_. "Of course I can, I am very good at it!" I cried out loud and stood up to button my jeans. Without wasting more time, I threw the note in the trash and grabbed my bag. Taking Dimitri's hand, I hurried out the door. There was no one in the hallway, but I decided against waiting for the elevator and went down the stairs.

"I will check us out," he told me and let go of my hand. I nodded and went out to get the car. The parking lot was well lit and there was no one around. I unlocked the car and got into the passenger seat, texting Tim we were on our way back when a hand suddenly clasped over my mouth. I tried to scream, but it was muffled by the hand. I trashed and tried to shake him off, but he had me from behind and trapped me with a wire around the neck, which cut off my breathing. I looked in the mirror to catch a glance of Dimitri finally coming our way, but I was losing consciousness so fast he wouldn't make it in time. I stopped trying to get him off me and opened the door instead and kicked it open, trying to alarm Dimitri. I barely caught a glimpse of him starting to run then the world turned black.

"Rose? Rose?" Someone kept calling my name. I tried to remember why one would do so but came up blank. Where was I? It felt like I was lying on the ground, but why? "Roza wake up! Please wake up!" the man with the accent called again. I opened my eyes slowly, feeling my head hurt with every slight movement. I was in fact laying on the ground, or rather on Dimitri's duster on the ground. The car door was open, both of them actually, but the man was nowhere in sight.

"The man," I muttered, "where is he?"

Dimitri breached in relief and cupped my face. "He is gone, don't worry milaya, he is gone."

"Gone?" I asked. He would come back, I knew he would. He had tried so hard to get me.

"Gone, dead," he clarified and kissed my forehead before helping me up. First now did I notice he had blood on his face and his shirt.

"You are bleeding!" I exclaimed and searched for the cause. He had a small cut on his temple but otherwise looked okay. I checked the parking lot, only now noticing the body on the ground a few meters away, turned over on his side, probably stabbed by Dimitris stake.

"I am fine," he brushed it off. "Come on, let's go home. I'll call Hans and ask him to get rid of the body," he told me and helped me back in the car. Closing the other door and getting in the driver's seat without another word he took me back to court. Hans meet us at the front gate and told us to go back to Dimitris and take tomorrow off. I didn't need to be told twice. Once inside I got in the shower immediately, wanting to wash off this entire night. Dimitri had tea ready when I came out, going in after to take a shower as well and wash off the blood. I got into bed while he was in and when he came out, he pulled another duvet from the closet and wrapped us both in it. taking me in his arms, he breathed my hair and kissed it lightly.

"Dimitri?" I asked as something suddenly teased my otherwise comfortable state of mind.

"Yes, my love?"

"Who was that man?" I asked. He had clearly organized this thing rather well, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't over yet.

"Why would you ask that?" he wondered but squeezed me tighter.

"Because he tried to kill me?"

He sighed deeply and grabbed around my arms to have me entirely in his embrace. "He wasn't trying to kill you," he told me to my surprise.

"It felt that way," I commented and wrestled my arm out to rub my neck.

"He didn't," he insisted. "He just wanted to take you. Take you away from me."

"From you?" I asked utterly confused.

"Yes," he sighed again and breathed me in deeply. "That man was my father."

"Oh," I was stunned. I had only heard of his father once, it wasn't really a topic that came up much. "That was him?"

He nodded and turned me, so I was laying on his chest. "Yes, but he is no more. You don't have to worry."

I wanted him to be correct, I really did, but I couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. There had been two people in the parking lot watching me. The person on the other end of the phone definitely wasn't Dimitri's father. I wanted to tell him all of this, but I didn't. He thought this was over, and I saw no reason to correct him. Not really anyway. I would talk to Hans about it tomorrow. Right now, I just felt safe in my lover's arms.


End file.
